Delicious Beef Jap Chae, A Korean Glassy Noodle Stir Fry
Learn how to make Beef Japchae, a well-known Korean glassy noodle stir fry! It's a delicious stir fry with sweet potato starch noodles, vegetables, and beef. It's easy to prepare ahead of time for a quick weeknight supper or potlucks. If not allergic to sesame, garnish with a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound rib eye or sirloin steak or chicken or pork or omit
- 5 tablespoons soy sauce divided
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 4 teaspoons sesame oil divided
- 3 stalks scallions chopped (divided)
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 6 ounces baby spinach
- 12 ounces Korean sweet potato noodles
- 2 teaspoons olive oil or any oil of choice
- 1/2 medium onion thinly sliced
- 2 stalks celery sliced
- 2 medium carrots use a vegetable peeler to make ribbons
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon sesame seeds, toasted for garnish, optional
Instructions
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Pat dry steak with a paper towel, place the steak in a freezer bag, and freeze for 30 minutes to firm it up.
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Remove the meat from the freezer bag and thinly slice against the grain, transfer to a mixing bowl.
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Marinate the meat with 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, minced garlic, and a small handful of green onions, mix and marinate for 30 minutes.
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Boil water in a large pot (1/2 to 2/3 full) and blanch spinach for 30 seconds. Use a slotted spoon to take the spinach out of the hot water and rinse under cold running water in a colander. Gently squeeze out excess water and transfer to a small bowl, add 1 teaspoon sesame oil, a pinch of salt, mix and set aside.
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Add sweet potato noodles to the boiling water, stir, and cook for 7 minutes or until tender.
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Drain and rinse the noodles in a large colander with cold water.
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Use your hands to pick up a handful of noodles and cut the noodles so that they are about 12 inches long, place in a large mixing bowl.
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Season the noodles with 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, mix, and set aside (if allergic to sesame oil, use any allergy safe oil to prevent the noodles from sticking).
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Preheat a wok or a large frying pan on medium high heat for a few minutes, the pan is ready when a small splash of water sizzles in the pan.
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Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil in the pan and saute sliced onions until tender, add celery and saute 30 seconds more, set aside.
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Add 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in the pan and saute the carrot ribbons for 1-2 minutes until tender crisp, set aside.
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Add 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil in the pan and add the beef into the pan, spread it out, and let the beef sear for a minute or two, then stir fry and cooked through, set aside.
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Turn down the heat on the pan to low-medium, add 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, and stir to dissolve sugar.
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Add the noodles, meat, and vegetables to the pan and gently stir fry until thoroughly mixed.
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Season to taste with additional soy sauce and drizzle with 1 teaspoon sesame oil, garnish with the rest of the scallions, and sesame seeds if using.
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Serve as a main entree by itself or as a side dish.
Recipe Notes
- If using shitake MUSHROOMS, clean 4 mushrooms and remove stem, thinly slice (1/2 cup) and stir fry with the meat.
- If using red BELL PEPPER julienne 1/4 of a bell pepper (1/2 cup) and stir fry with the carrot ribbons.
- Please refer to the blog post about how to substitute for soy, wheat, or sesame allergies.